Now that we've gotten the obvious answer to the ridiculous question of whether a four-time league most valuable player lacks toughness, let us move on to other matters here in the NBA Finals.

While the attention in this series has been focused on LeBron James—first for suffering from cramps in Game 1, then for answering his critics with a dominating Game 2—something else is happening on the court. We are witnessing the extinction of the traditional shooting guard.

For decades, the NBA shooting guard has been exactly what the name implies: a perimeter player whose purpose is to shoot—and only shoot. This series, which is tied at a game apiece entering Tuesday's Game 3, has two examples: the Miami Heat's Ray Allen and the San Antonio Spurs' Danny Green.

But nowadays, they are an oddity. A different breed of shooting guard is replacing them—a slashing-to-the-basket sort that makes the term shooting guard rather ill-fitting. This series features them, too: Miami's Dwyane Wade and San Antonio's Manu Ginóbili.

Leaguewide, coaches and players say there might be five to 10 traditional shooting guards still around. Most name the Golden State Warriors' Klay Thompson, the Atlanta Hawks' Kyle Korver, the Los Angeles Clippers' J.J. Redick and the Washington Wizards' Bradley Beal in addition to the veteran Allen.

"There definitely aren't that many of us left," said Allen, the league's all-time leader in three-pointers, who turns 39 next month. "It's become a pretty short list over the last few years. The game has changed."

This is all part of the rapid evolution of the NBA game. The demise of the shooting guard is related to the rise of the "scoring" point guard, the emergence of shooting big men and the near-complete disappearance of traditional back-to-the-basket centers. Essentially, what's happening is the league is becoming "positionless," as Bob Hill, Gregg Popovich's predecessor as Spurs coach, put it.

"There are a bunch of hyperactive two guards in the league now, so you aren't seeing them just stand in the corner to wait for their shot nearly as much anymore," he said.

We probably should have seen this shift coming. Given the popularity of Michael Jordan and then Kobe Bryant—two shooting guards in name only—it figured that the league would eventually be filled with players modeled after them. Case in point: the Heat's Wade, who is now teammates with Allen—the quintessential shooting guard—and grew up idolizing someone else.

"I grew up wanting to be like Michael," said Wade, a Chicago native who, like Jordan and Bryant, has never been known for his perimeter shooting. "And that's natural—you grow up wanting to emulate the games of guys who are your height."

Asked whether he ever viewed Allen that way, Wade said, "He was someone I got a chance to watch and have a relationship with," since he and Allen played in Wisconsin simultaneously. (Wade starred in college at Marquette; Allen was with the Milwaukee Bucks at the time.) That said, he added: "Obviously our games are a lot different."

Aside from Jordan's influence, the NBA's decision in 2004 to outlaw hand-checking—that is, defensive players laying their hands on opponents—gave offensive players more freedom and incentive to dart toward the basket in hopes of drawing fouls.

Granted, on a broader level, one could argue that the entire two-guard position—not even just traditional, spot-up shooting guards, but all non-point guards—is fading fast.

The 32-year-old Wade, who was limited during the regular season to preserve him for the playoffs, is no longer a star on a nightly basis. Bryant, the position's standard-bearer for a decade, is 35 now and missed nearly the entire year with separate injuries. With point guards becoming more scoring-minded—the league's 10 most efficient point guards were responsible for ending 26.5% of their team's possessions this season, up from 20.7% in 1983-84—teams are increasingly thinking it is more important to get defense out of their shooting guards than scoring.

But if there is one reason shooting guards aren't having the same affect on the game that they used to, it is this: The skill for which they are best known—shooting—no longer separates them from floor-spacing big men like the Heat's Chris Bosh, who are comfortable lining the perimeter.

Thirty years ago, players 6-foot-8 and taller shot 10 full percentage points worse from three-point range than players who stood between 6-foot-3 and 6-foot-7. Now, the numbers are almost identical for both groups: Players 6-foot-8 and taller shot 35.2% from distance this past regular season, just under the 36.5% that players 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-7 connected on, according to Stats LLC.

"A lot of the best shooters in our league are [big men] at this point, and it just shows you how things are constantly evolving," Bryant said. "That's why Ray's game is timeless: His approach is still pretty much the same despite the changes the rest of the league has gone through."

Always admired Allen, his shooting is textbook. But have to agree, players these days are at a disadvantage if they are siloed into one position. The term I hear these days is "hybrid guard" or "hybrid forward". And some of these guys are known to jump out of the gym with an almost unfair level of athleticism. Heck I don't even know the last time I heard the center position mentioned.

It's a healthy, predictable evolution of the game the one dimensional players are headed out. Who knows -- once everyone has PF size, PG ball handling and SG shooting, maybe someone will start playing D.

Pt. 2 - It isn't so much that Ray Allen's skills are less valued, but his defensive liabilities in the modern game are clear.

Defensively, it's no longer nearly as much a cat and mouse game, when a guy like Larry Bird (slower footed than many, not a leaper by any measure) could defend and get lots of steals, by knowing when to/not to try and block a shot/ignore a head fake; expect a pass and be waiting in the passing lane and when to be in position for a charge.

Today, defense is about athleticism, and Ray Allen type players do not measure up in the modern game. Silver should fix this problem – and in doing so players like Allen wouldn’t be undervalued and the one and done phenomenon of college would fix itself. Who knows, once all of the 3-4 step dunkers took a step back, maybe a true superstar like MJ would emerge? I think LeBron would stand out more in that game than he does today. And Ray Allen would be coveted, as he should be.

Pt. 1 - The game has changed, and probably for the worse.Stern loosened up the walking violation, so
players could run and jump and dunk "like Mike" even though Jordan
and Dr. J before them seemed to handle it with 1.5-2 steps before taking
off.As a result, the league has become
flooded with less skilled players and better athletes."One and done" college players reflect
the fact that taller unseasoned/underskilled athletes are able to play in the
modern NBA. By loosening up the rule on
walking, GM's desire taller, longer limbed players who can defend against
players that are allowed, with a ball in their hands, to take a step, jump,
land on two feet, and then take another step/establish another pivot foot
etc.

Part of this is it is harder to find guys who can shoot well, consistently from the outside. Hence the fact that Kyle Korver, who can do nothing else, is mentioned in this article.

So if you can't shoot from the outside you had better be able to drive the lane and stir things up inside.

If we get back to a 2 or 3 and done rule for college, the talent level in the NBA will rise, and you will again find a role for guys like Ray Allen. The Heat are in the Finals precisely because they have found players like Allen who can hit the corner 3 when LeBron or D-Wade drives the lane and draws the defense in.

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